Monday, September 11, 2006

I remember September 11th like it was yesterday. My wife and I had just found out that we were expecting our first child a few days before. I was working from home that day and had a conference call with people from all over the world scheduled. The phone rang and ARC:Brian told me to turn on the TV. I flipped it on and saw the smoking WTC and asked him what had happened. As he was telling me, the second plane hit before my eyes.

Both Brian and I commented that the world had just changed. That we were at war and that none of the things that we had tolerated for so long in the past would be allowed to continue. I seem to recall that we even said that Saddam's days were numbered.

Anyway, on that day and in the days to follow, it became clear to many that the environment in the Middle East, one that revere's the 12th century and uses 21st century technology in the hopes of returning to such a backward state, had to be changed. Our efforts in the middle east will take years, but generations from now our children (in the US and those in the Middle East) will look back and be grateful that we finally changed the course of history in the Middle East.

THE PRESIDENT: Ladies and gentlemen, this is a difficult moment for America. I, unfortunately, will be going back to Washington after my remarks. Secretary Rod Paige and the Lt. Governor will take the podium and discuss education. I do want to thank the folks here at Booker Elementary School for their hospitality.

Today we've had a national tragedy. Two airplanes have crashed into the World Trade Center in an apparent terrorist attack on our country. I have spoken to the Vice President, to the Governor of New York, to the Director of the FBI, and have ordered that the full resources of the federal government go to help the victims and their families, and to conduct a full-scale investigation to hunt down and to find those folks who committed this act.

I think it's important to note that at this early hour on September 11th, President Bush hadn't yet grasped the impact of this event. He still has the mentality which was held by the Clinton administration - that this was a law enforcement issue. He's requesting an "investigation" to hunt down the "folks" that committed this act.

After flying on Air Force One and hearing of the Flight 93 crash, he landed at Barksdale Air Force Base in Louisana and gave this statement:

THE PRESIDENT: I want to reassure the American people that the full resources of the federal government are working to assist local authorities to save lives and to help the victims of these attacks. Make no mistake: The United States will hunt down and punish those responsible for these cowardly acts.

I've been in regular contact with the Vice President, the Secretary of Defense, the national security team and my Cabinet. We have taken all appropriate security precautions to protect the American people. Our military at home and around the world is on high alert status, and we have taken the necessary security precautions to continue the functions of your government.

We have been in touch with the leaders of Congress and with world leaders to assure them that we will do whatever is necessary to protect America and Americans.

I ask the American people to join me in saying a thanks for all the folks who have been fighting hard to rescue our fellow citizens and to join me in saying a prayer for the victims and their families.

The resolve of our great nation is being tested. But make no mistake: We will show the world that we will pass this test. God bless.

A little more resolute, but still not grasping what needs to be done. I recall that many criticized Bush's early statements because they were not forcful enough.

THE PRESIDENT: Good evening. Today, our fellow citizens, our way of life, our very freedom came under attack in a series of deliberate and deadly terrorist acts. The victims were in airplanes, or in their offices; secretaries, businessmen and women, military and federal workers; moms and dads, friends and neighbors. Thousands of lives were suddenly ended by evil, despicable acts of terror.

The pictures of airplanes flying into buildings, fires burning, huge structures collapsing, have filled us with disbelief, terrible sadness, and a quiet, unyielding anger. These acts of mass murder were intended to frighten our nation into chaos and retreat. But they have failed; our country is strong.

A great people has been moved to defend a great nation. Terrorist attacks can shake the foundations of our biggest buildings, but they cannot touch the foundation of America. These acts shattered steel, but they cannot dent the steel of American resolve.

America was targeted for attack because we're the brightest beacon for freedom and opportunity in the world. And no one will keep that light from shining.[...]The search is underway for those who are behind these evil acts. I've directed the full resources of our intelligence and law enforcement communities to find those responsible and to bring them to justice. We will make no distinction between the terrorists who committed these acts and those who harbor them.[...]America and our friends and allies join with all those who want peace and security in the world, and we stand together to win the war against terrorism. Tonight, I ask for your prayers for all those who grieve, for the children whose worlds have been shattered, for all whose sense of safety and security has been threatened. And I pray they will be comforted by a power greater than any of us, spoken through the ages in Psalm 23: "Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I fear no evil, for You are with me."

This is a day when all Americans from every walk of life unite in our resolve for justice and peace. America has stood down enemies before, and we will do so this time. None of us will ever forget this day. Yet, we go forward to defend freedom and all that is good and just in our world.

Thank you. Good night, and God bless America.

Note that this is the first mention of the Bush Doctrine, making no distinction between the terrorists and those who harbor them. Also notice the first mention of the War On Terror.

The following day, Bush met with the National Security team in the White House and gave this statement following the meeting:

10:53 A.M. EDT

THE PRESIDENT: I have just completed a meeting with my national security team, and we have received the latest intelligence updates.

The deliberate and deadly attacks which were carried out yesterday against our country were more than acts of terror. They were acts of war. This will require our country to unite in steadfast determination and resolve. Freedom and democracy are under attack.

The American people need to know that we're facing a different enemy than we have ever faced. This enemy hides in shadows, and has no regard for human life. This is an enemy who preys on innocent and unsuspecting people, then runs for cover. But it won't be able to run for cover forever. This is an enemy that tries to hide. But it won't be able to hide forever. This is an enemy that thinks its harbors are safe. But they won't be safe forever.

This enemy attacked not just our people, but all freedom-loving people everywhere in the world. The United States of America will use all our resources to conquer this enemy. We will rally the world. We will be patient, we will be focused, and we will be steadfast in our determination.

This battle will take time and resolve. But make no mistake about it: we will win.[...]

Next, on September 14th, Bush stands on top of a pile of rubble at Ground Zero and lets us all know that our response to 9/11 won't simply mean a retreat inside fortress America and an unending mourning, but an offensive against the terrorists. (This is the scene which drives the Left totally bonkers, btw.)

4:40 P.M. EDT

CROWD: U.S.A.! U.S.A.!

THE PRESIDENT: Thank you all. I want you all to know --

Q Can't hear you.

THE PRESIDENT: I can't talk any louder. (Laughter.)

I want you all to know that America today -- that America today is on bended knee in prayer for the people whose lives were lost here, for the workers who work here, for the families who mourn. This nation stands with the good people of New York City, and New Jersey and Connecticut, as we mourn the loss of thousands of our citizens.

Q I can't hear you.

THE PRESIDENT: I can hear you. (Applause.) I can hear you. The rest of the world hears you. (Applause.) And the people who knocked these buildings down will hear all of us soon. (Applause.)

CROWD: U.S.A.! U.S.A.!

THE PRESIDENT: The nation sends its love and compassion to everybody who is here. Thank you for your hard work. Thank you for making the nation proud. And may God bless America. (Applause.)

[...]On September the 11th, enemies of freedom committed an act of war against our country. Americans have known wars -- but for the past 136 years, they have been wars on foreign soil, except for one Sunday in 1941. Americans have known the casualties of war -- but not at the center of a great city on a peaceful morning. Americans have known surprise attacks -- but never before on thousands of civilians. All of this was brought upon us in a single day -- and night fell on a different world, a world where freedom itself is under attack.

Americans have many questions tonight. Americans are asking: Who attacked our country? The evidence we have gathered all points to a collection of loosely affiliated terrorist organizations known as al Qaeda. They are the same murderers indicted for bombing American embassies in Tanzania and Kenya, and responsible for bombing the USS Cole.

Al Qaeda is to terror what the mafia is to crime. But its goal is not making money; its goal is remaking the world -- and imposing its radical beliefs on people everywhere.

The terrorists practice a fringe form of Islamic extremism that has been rejected by Muslim scholars and the vast majority of Muslim clerics -- a fringe movement that perverts the peaceful teachings of Islam. The terrorists' directive commands them to kill Christians and Jews, to kill all Americans, and make no distinction among military and civilians, including women and children.

This group and its leader -- a person named Osama bin Laden -- are linked to many other organizations in different countries, including the Egyptian Islamic Jihad and the Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan. There are thousands of these terrorists in more than 60 countries. They are recruited from their own nations and neighborhoods and brought to camps in places like Afghanistan, where they are trained in the tactics of terror. They are sent back to their homes or sent to hide in countries around the world to plot evil and destruction.

The leadership of al Qaeda has great influence in Afghanistan and supports the Taliban regime in controlling most of that country. In Afghanistan, we see al Qaeda's vision for the world.

Afghanistan's people have been brutalized -- many are starving and many have fled. Women are not allowed to attend school. You can be jailed for owning a television. Religion can be practiced only as their leaders dictate. A man can be jailed in Afghanistan if his beard is not long enough.

The United States respects the people of Afghanistan -- after all, we are currently its largest source of humanitarian aid -- but we condemn the Taliban regime. (Applause.) It is not only repressing its own people, it is threatening people everywhere by sponsoring and sheltering and supplying terrorists. By aiding and abetting murder, the Taliban regime is committing murder.

And tonight, the United States of America makes the following demands on the Taliban: Deliver to United States authorities all the leaders of al Qaeda who hide in your land. (Applause.) Release all foreign nationals, including American citizens, you have unjustly imprisoned. Protect foreign journalists, diplomats and aid workers in your country. Close immediately and permanently every terrorist training camp in Afghanistan, and hand over every terrorist, and every person in their support structure, to appropriate authorities. (Applause.) Give the United States full access to terrorist training camps, so we can make sure they are no longer operating.

These demands are not open to negotiation or discussion. (Applause.) The Taliban must act, and act immediately. They will hand over the terrorists, or they will share in their fate. [...]Our war on terror begins with al Qaeda, but it does not end there. It will not end until every terrorist group of global reach has been found, stopped and defeated. (Applause.)[...]Americans are asking: How will we fight and win this war? We will direct every resource at our command -- every means of diplomacy, every tool of intelligence, every instrument of law enforcement, every financial influence, and every necessary weapon of war -- to the disruption and to the defeat of the global terror network.

This war will not be like the war against Iraq a decade ago, with a decisive liberation of territory and a swift conclusion. It will not look like the air war above Kosovo two years ago, where no ground troops were used and not a single American was lost in combat.

Our response involves far more than instant retaliation and isolated strikes. Americans should not expect one battle, but a lengthy campaign, unlike any other we have ever seen. It may include dramatic strikes, visible on TV, and covert operations, secret even in success. We will starve terrorists of funding, turn them one against another, drive them from place to place, until there is no refuge or no rest. And we will pursue nations that provide aid or safe haven to terrorism. Every nation, in every region, now has a decision to make. Either you are with us, or you are with the terrorists. (Applause.) From this day forward, any nation that continues to harbor or support terrorism will be regarded by the United States as a hostile regime.

It's amazing how so many in this country, including leaders in government, have forgotten these words. On this fifth anniversary of September 11th, let's remember that awful day - but let's also remember our pledge to make sure something so horrific never happened again.

That day our first responders were firemen, policemen, doctors, nurses, and the passegers of Flight 93 - armed with their bare hands and boiling water. After that day, we understood that there are more effective ways of dealing with our enemies.

One reader from Nebraska (I would say, "Go, Huskers" but I'm a Tigers fan!) emailed me this comment:

In your timeline you omitted President Bush's stop at Offutt AFB, Nebraska, after departing Barksdale. While the morons and hatemongers on the Loony Left claim that he was "cowering in a bunker," the reality is that Offutt is the headquarters of Strategic Command and one of the alternate military command centers; it is equipped with lots of secure communications by which the President can talk to his cabinet and get the latest information available.

For me, that day was one I never thought I would see: the declaration of an air defense emergency. That's what really happened when FAA cleared the skies of everything but military combat aircraft. I am amazed that it went as well as it did.

I live close enough to the Offutt final approach centerline to Runway 12 that I could easily see AF-1 as it made its approach to Offutt.

I did omit that visit in this post. I also omitted Bush's State of the Union speech which outlined his policy regarding the Axis of Evil, the culmination of the Bush Doctrine as it had developed over the months following September 11th.

I just wanted to point out the number of times that (in the first few days after 9/11) Bush attempted to make it clear to the American people (supporters and detractors alike) that this war wouldn't just be a war against a single person (OBL), nor would it be a law enforcement effort, but rather a long, difficult war with many setbacks and victories (some public, many covert).

Unfortunately, few listened to his words. Or they chose to ignore him for their own political purposes. As Paul Gigot points out in today's WSJ, it is likely that Bush will have to wait for history to judge his actions appropriately. Like Truman and the beginning of the Cold War, many in America are already tired of the conflict and wish it had never begun. But decades from now, his words and deeds will be recognized as correct.

And, I should note to our reader in Nebraska, the Left's immediate criticism of Bush going to Offutt was the first indication that their support and resolve in the War On Terror had no foundation, had no anchor.

We should have known then that their partisanship would overtake their reason in a relatively short time.